Umm . . . Can I Re-Raise?

We had a fabulous family night last night. Sent the au pair off to visit her family in Brazil for two weeks. As such, we had no restrictions on where to dine (she's got a very particular palate), so our boys chose the Japanese steak house near us. You've never seen two boys eat so much. Or one little boy eat so much of the "A-2" seafood sauce. They give it to us in large bowls, he eats so much.

After dinner, we saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I don't remember a lot of the old Indiana Jones movies like the husband does (or Son #1, for that matter, who has watched them with his dad), but the special effects were great, Harrison Ford a little campy, as expected, and, if you can suspend your disbelief, a great action adventure.

*****

We put the boys to bed and decided to play a little heads up poker. Hold 'Em - Omaha - Stud. Five hands each, blinds go up after each cycle. We're playing our normal play. He, aggressive and playing position, me, more conservative and a little passive, but calling him and catching him bluffing now and then.

We're in the second Omaha round and I am dealt crappy cards. K-9-6-2. Might have had two cards of the same suit. Maybe not. I'm in the big blind. He doesn't raise it, so I check my blind. The flop comes 2-7-2. If I remember, two of the cards are suited. I laugh and say "Wow - good to have the Hammer this hand." DrChako is silent. This should have been my tip off. I have trips, so I bet. He just calls.

The turn card is a 5. No flush possibility yet. But now I have trip 2's, AND an open ended straight draw. I bet. DrChako raises. ???? It's a pretty random board. I think he's just trying to pull my leg at this point. But the board could dissolve at any minute. After all, it is Omaha. Omaha will find a way to screw your made hand at any time.

The river is a 2. I am in disbelief. I bet. DrChako raises. I re-raise. He re-raises. I hear a chorus of angels in my head. They are singing the "You have quad 2's" song. I'm so confused by his bet (into my mortal nuts), and our chips, and I can't remember how many bets we have out there, so I say "Um . . . can I re-raise?"

He looks at me, puzzled, and says "Yeah, you can cap it." So I do. Again, he looks at me puzzled and says "I call. If you have the case 2 . . . "

I turned it over and showed him the bad news. He was PO'd. Capital P. Capital O. (The "d" is still little, cause he's a pretty mellow guy.) He held a pair of 7's and had flopped the full house. I tried to explain that since he kind of slow-played it (and has a history of aggressive betting on draws) that I didn't put him on full house and with trips and an open ended straight draw, I thought I was pretty good. Decimated his chip stack. Of course, when the blinds went up later, he got it all back on a pair of deuces in the next Hold 'Em round. Seems fitting.

We ended the night even - we each took a series. Good game.

*****

Today is a beautiful sunny day in the Seattle area. We will spend part of the day packing as we get ready for a beach vacation. I am ready for the relaxation. And the sunshine. And some good bikini tan lines.

Vegas in two weeks!

Respectfully submitted,

The Wife